Support for hanger for mounting cables

ABSTRACT

An assembly includes: a mounting structure including a mounting hole; a cable hanger having two arms with locking projections, the locking projections inserted into the mounting hole of the mounting structure, and the arms defining a space for engaging a cable; and a support for maintaining the mounting of the cable hanger in the mounting structure, the support including a main panel and first and second fingers extending in a direction away from the main panel. The second finger is inserted between the arms of the cable hanger, and the first finger is positioned laterally of one of the arms.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/000,559, filed Jun. 5, 2018, which claimspriority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/517,366, filed Jun. 9, 2017, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to devices for supporting cablesand, in particular, to hangers and related equipment for securing cablesto support structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cable hangers are commonly used to secure cables to structural membersof antenna towers and or along tunnel walls. Generally, each cable isattached to a structural member by cable hangers mounted atperiodically-spaced attachment points.

Antenna towers and or tunnels may be crowded due to the large numbers ofcables required for signal-carrying. Over time, as systems are added,upgraded and/or expanded, installation of additional cables may berequired. To conserve space, it may be desirable for each set of cablehangers to secure more than a single cable. Certain cable hangers havebeen constructed to secure multiple cables; other cable hangers have astackable construction that permits multiple cable hangers to beinterlocked extending outwardly from each mounting point/structuralmember. Stacked and multiple-cable hangers significantly increase thenumber of cables mountable to a single attachment point.

One popular stackable cable hanger is discussed in U.S. Pat. No.8,191,836 to Korczak, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. One such cable hanger, designatedbroadly at 10, is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hanger 10 includes curvedarms 5 that extend from a flat base 6. Locking projections 7 extend fromthe free ends of the arms 5. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, thelocking projections 7 are inserted into a reinforced hole 8 in a towerstructure or adapter 4 to mount the hanger 10 thereon. The base 6 of thehanger 10 includes a reinforced hole 9 that can receive the projectionsof another hanger 10 to mount a second cable.

As can be best seen in FIG. 2, the arms 5 include two arcuate sections14 that together generally define a circle within which a cable canreside. Two cantilevered tabs 12 extend radially inwardly and toward thebase 6 at one end of the arcuate sections 14, and two cantilevered tabs16 extend radially inwardly and toward the base 6 from the opposite endsof the arcuate sections 14. The cantilevered tabs 12, 16 are deployed todeflect radially outwardly when the hanger 10 receives a cable formounting; this deflection generates a radially inward force from eachtab 12, 16 that grips the jacket of the cable.

Hangers can be “stacked” onto each other by inserting the lockingprojections 7 of one hanger into the large hole 9 of the next hanger.One variety of cable hanger of this type is the SNAP-STAK® hanger,available from CommScope, Inc. (Joliet, Ill.).

The SNAP-STAK® hanger is offered in multiple sizes that correspond tothe outer diameters of different cables. This arrangement has beensuitable for use with RF coaxial cables, which tend to be manufacturedin only a few different outer diameters; however, the arrangement hasbeen less desirable for fiber optic cables, which tend to bemanufactured in a much greater variety of diameters. Moreover, fiberoptic cables tend to be much heavier than coaxial cables (sometimes asmuch as three times heavier per unit foot), which induces greater loadand stress on the hangers.

Multiple approaches to addressing this issue are offered in co-assignedand co-pending U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0281881 to Vaccaro, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in full.One cable hanger discussed in this publication is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4and designated broadly at 610 therein. The cable hanger 610 is somewhatsimilar to the cable hanger 10, inasmuch as it has a base 606, curvedarms 605 and locking projections 607 that resemble those of the hanger10 discussed above. However, the cable hanger 610 also has flex members618 that define chords across the arcuate sections 614 of the arms 605.As can be seen in FIG. 4, cantilevered gripping members 612, 616 extendfrom the flex members 618 and into the cable-gripping space S within thearms 605. It can also be seen in FIG. 3 that the flex members 618 aretripartite, with two vertically offset horizontal runs 618 a, 618 cmerging with the arcuate sections 614 of the arms 605 and a vertical run618 b extending between the horizontal runs 618 a, 618 c. The grippingmembers 612, 616 extend from opposite sides of the vertical run 618 band are vertically offset from each other.

In use, the cable hanger 610 is employed in the same manner as the cablehanger 10; a cable is inserted into the space S between the arms 605,which are then closed around the cable as the locking projections 607are inserted into a mounting hole. The cantilevered gripping members612, 616 can help to grip and to center the cable within the space S.The presence of the flex members 618, which are fixed end beams ratherthan cantilevered tabs, can provide additional gripping force beyondthat of the cable hanger 10.

Either of the cable hangers 10, 610 may be subjected to loading fromsources besides the weight of cables, including wind, particularly whenthe cable hangers are mounted on tall antenna towers or other mountingstructures that are positioned well above the ground. The additionalloading can make the cable hanger susceptible to slipping or evenbecoming dislodged. To address this possibility, a “dogbone”-shapedsupport (designated at 50 in FIG. 5) can be inserted between fee ends ofthe arms 5 of a cable hanger 10 to provide additional stability. Morespecifically, the support 50 has a shaft 51 with bulging ends 52. Asplit latch 53 projects from one side of the shaft 51. As can be seen inFIGS. 6 and 7, the support 50 is inserted between the free ends of thearms 5 near the locking projections 7 of the cable hanger 10, with thebulging ends 52 above and below the arms 5, and the split latch 53extending into the mounting hole 8 of the adapter 4 or other mountingstructure. The presence of the support 50 helps to prevent the lockingprojections 7 from deflecting inwardly under load, which deflectioncould result in unintended dislodging of the mounted cable hanger.

It may be desirable to provide additional configurations of supports forcable hangers that may be used with a cable hanger.

SUMMARY

As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to anassembly comprising: a mounting structure including a mounting hole; acable hanger having two arms with locking projections, the lockingprojections inserted into the mounting hole of the mounting structure,and the arms defining a space for engaging a cable; and a support formaintaining the mounting of the cable hanger in the mounting structure,the support including a main panel and first and second fingersextending in a direction away from the main panel. The second finger isinserted between the arms of the cable hanger, and the first finger ispositioned laterally of one of the arms.

As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to amethod of stabilizing a mounted cable hanger, comprising:

providing a cable hanger mounted on a mounting structure, the cablehanger having two arms with locking projections, the locking projectionsinserted into a mounting hole of the mounting structure, and the armsdefining a space for engaging a cable;

providing a support including a main panel and first and second fingersextending in a direction away from the main panel; and

inserting the second finger of the support between the arms of the cablehanger such that the first finger is positioned adjacent to but lateralof one of the arms.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art cable hanger.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the prior art cable hanger of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another prior art cable hanger.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the cable hanger of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a prior art support for a cable hanger.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the support of FIG. 5 being insertedinto a mounting hole of an adapter.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a cable hanger being mounted in theadapter of FIG. 6 stabilized by the support of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a support for a cable hanger accordingto embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the support of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the support of FIG. 8 being insertedinto a cable hanger mounted on a mounting structure.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a support for a cable hanger according toalternative embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a support for a cable hanger according toadditional embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a support for a cable hanger accordingto further embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the support of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a support according to additional embodimentsof the invention.

FIG. 16 is a front view of a support according to further embodiments ofthe invention.

FIG. 17 is a front view of a support according to still furtherembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. Thisinvention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and shouldnot be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured anddescribed herein, rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also beappreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in anyway and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that areused in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood byone of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Theterminology used in the below description is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singularforms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms aswell, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also beunderstood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) isreferred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it canbe directly connected or coupled to the other element or interveningelements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element,there are no intervening elements present.

Referring now to the drawings, a support for a cable hanger according toembodiments of the invention is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 and designatedbroadly at 100. The support 100 includes a main panel 102 and threefingers 104, 106, 108 that extend generally parallel to each other inthe same direction away from the main panel 102.

The support 100 may be formed of a number of materials, includingmetallic and polymeric materials. The illustrated support 100 isgenerally flat, although other supports may include some contour asdiscussed below. In some embodiments, the support 100 may be formed as amonolithic component; for example, the support 100 may be stamped from asheet of steel or other metal. To give a sense of scale, the support 100is typically between about 1.0 and 2.0 inches in length and width, withthe fingers 104, 106, 108 being about 0.25 inches in length and 0.5inches in width, and the gap between adjacent fingers being about 0.15to 0.20 inches.

Use of the support 100 can be understood with reference to FIG. 10. Acable hanger 610 is mounted in a mounting hole (typically ¾ inch innominal diameter) of a mounting support 700 such as an antenna towerleg. The support 100 is inserted such that the center finger 106 ispositioned between the free ends of the arms 605 near the lockingprojections (not shown) of the cable hanger 610, and the outer fingers104, 108 are positioned laterally of their respective arms 605. The mainpanel 102 rests above, and in some cases on, the upper edges of the arms605. Thus, the central finger 106 prevents the locking projections 607from inward movement that might dislodge them from the mounting hole. Inaddition, the outer fingers 104, 108 fit under the hooks 619 of the arms605 and encourage a more snug fit. Moreover, the presence of the mainpanel 102 on the upper edges of the arms 605 prevents the support 100from falling through the arms 605 and therefore helps to maintain thesupport 100 in place.

Notably, the support 100 can be inserted into place while the cablehanger 610 is mounted in its mounting hole. This is difficult, if notimpossible, with the dogbone-style support 50 discussed above. As such,a support 100 can be added where needed to an existing mounted cablehanger (or stack of cable hangers) without first removing the cablehanger from the mounting hole. This can be particularly useful forexisting stacks of cable hangers, as their removal and remounting can becumbersome.

It should also be noted that, although the support 100 is shown is usewith a cable hanger 610 mounted to a mounting structure, the support 100may also be used with a cable hanger 610 mounted to a second cablehanger 610 as part of a stack as mentioned above.

Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the support 100 may takeother forms. For example, any of the main panel 102 and/or the fingers104 may include raised protrusions or projections that may enhance the“grip” between the support 100, the mounting structure, and/or the cablehanger 610. Such raised protrusions may include embossing, nodes, nubs,flanges, dimples, detents, raised edges, teeth, and the like.Alternatively, or in addition, part or all of the support 102 may have atextured finish to enhance grip. Other types of grip-enhancing featuresmay also be employed.

As a further alternative, as shown in FIG. 11 the outer fingers 104′,108′ of a support 100′ may have inner edges (i.e., the edges that faceor confront the central finger 106′) that are beveled, such that thesupport 100′ can more easily be inserted into a mounted cable hanger610. Similarly, the central finger 106′ may have slightly beveled edgeson its free end to facilitate insertion into a cable hanger 610.Moreover, as shown in FIG. 17, the outer fingers 304, 308 of a support300 may be curved to facilitate insertion.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12 in some embodiments the central finger ofa support 100″ may be replaced by two fingers 106 a, 106 b that extendin the same direction. Because such fingers are narrower than a singlefinger, they may deflect slightly upon insertion into a cable hanger,which may facilitate insertion while providing an outwardly-directedspring force on the locking projections of the cable hanger to maintainthe cable hanger in place.

Although in the illustrated embodiments the fingers 104, 106, 108 andthe main panel 102 are all substantially coplanar, in some embodimentssome of these components may not be coplanar. For example, the mainpanel 102 may be perpendicular to the fingers 104, 106, 108, or may bedisposed at an oblique angle to the fingers 104, 106, 108. In otherembodiments the outer fingers 104, 108 may be coplanar with each other,but not with the central finger 106. In addition, and as shown in FIGS.13 and 14, a support 200 may have one or more of the fingers 204, 206,208 that are bent or skewed out of the plane defined by the main panel202 to act as a spring. For example, the outer fingers 204, 208 may bebent into a shallow “V”-shape, such that they have the same profile aseach other, but are not coplanar with the central finger 206. Thecentral finger 206 has a shallow V-shape also, but the vertex of the “V”of the central finger 206 extends in the opposite direction to those ofthe outer fingers 204, 208. In such a configuration, the outer fingers204, 208 can apply additional pressure to the hooks 619 of the arms 605of the cable hanger 610 and thereby provide a more secure fit; the sameis true for the central finger 206, as it can apply pressure to theunderlying mounting structure.

In addition, in some embodiments all or part of one of the outer fingersmay be omitted. As an example, a support 400 is shown in FIG. 15 and hasa main panel 402 and a “central” finger 406, but has only one outerfinger 404. In this instance, the central finger 406 is inserted betweenthe arms of a cable hanger, and the outer finger 404 resides laterallyof one of the arms. As shown, the main panel 402 may “overhang” on theside opposite the outer finger 404 to rest on the upper edge of theopposite arm of the cable hanger.

Finally, in some embodiments the central and outer fingers may be ofdifferent lengths. As an extreme example, FIG. 16 shows a support 500with a main panel 502, a longer central finger 506, and very short outerfingers 504, 508. The outer fingers 504, 508 may or may not besufficient in length to fit beneath the hooks on the arms of a cablehanger as discussed above.

The invention being thus described, it will be apparent that the samemay be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are to beincluded within the scope of the following claims.

That which is claimed is:
 1. An assembly comprising: a mountingstructure including a mounting hole; a cable hanger having two arms withlocking projections, the locking projections inserted into the mountinghole of the mounting structure, and the arms defining a space forengaging a cable; and a support for maintaining the mounting of thecable hanger in the mounting structure, the support including a mainpanel and first and second fingers extending in a direction away fromthe main panel; wherein the second finger is inserted between the armsof the cable hanger, and the first finger is positioned laterally of oneof the arms; and wherein the second finger is bent to a shallow V-shapedprofile.
 2. The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein the support furthercomprises a third finger extending away from the main panel in the samedirection as the first and second fingers.
 3. The assembly defined inclaim 2, wherein the first and third fingers are substantially coplanar.4. The assembly defined in claim 2, wherein the first and third fingershave substantially identical profiles as they extend away from the mainpanel.
 5. The assembly defined in claim 2, further comprising a fourthfinger that extends from the main panel, the fourth finger beinginserted between the locking projections of the cable hanger.
 6. Theassembly defined in claim 1, wherein the main panel and the secondfinger are substantially coplanar.
 7. The assembly defined in claim 1,wherein the first finger is bent to a shallow V-shaped profile.
 8. Theassembly defined in claim 1, wherein the first finger has a beveledinner edge.
 9. A method of stabilizing a mounted cable hanger,comprising: providing a cable hanger mounted on a mounting structure,the cable hanger having two arms with locking projections, the lockingprojections inserted into a mounting hole of the mounting structure, andthe arms defining a space for engaging a cable; providing a supportincluding a main panel and first and second fingers extending in adirection away from the main panel; and inserting the second finger ofthe support between the arms of the cable hanger such that the firstfinger is positioned adjacent to but lateral of one of the arms; whereinthe second finger is bent to a shallow V-shaped profile.
 10. The methoddefined in claim 9, wherein a cable is mounted in the space defined bythe arms of the cable hanger.
 11. The method defined in claim 9, whereinthe mounting structure is a leg of an antenna tower.
 12. The methoddefined in claim 9, wherein the support further comprises a third fingerextending away from the main panel in the same direction as the firstand second fingers.
 13. The method defined in claim 9, wherein the firstand third fingers are substantially coplanar.
 14. The method defined inclaim 9, wherein the first and third fingers have substantiallyidentical profiles as they extend away from the main panel.
 15. Themethod defined in claim 9, further comprising a fourth finger thatextends from the main panel, the fourth finger being inserted betweenthe locking projections of the cable hanger.